Linked by fate
by bakatora16
Summary: Xenohart's heartless has been defeated. Xenohart's nobody has been defeated. Now it's time for Xenohart himself. But Sora and the Gang are going to need help for this one.
1. Chapter 1

Three young faces looked up at the archaic Yen Sid; the group standing in a special room within his own personal tower. Yen Sid brushed his long, gray eyebrows as he stared on with his rather large eyes. He was decked in his typical garb; an all blue robe with sky blue lining and his favorite, cone shaped hat that was littered with golden stars and crescent moons. "I'm very proud of you; my three young apprentices. But now is the time to put all of your skills to the test and take the last step to becoming keyblade masters. "Yen Sid paused for a moment, before continuing his speech. "Dream." He looked at the young man on his far right as he spoke.

Dream was a fairly tall, dark-skinned teenager with Amethyst eyes that caught every last fraction of light in the room. His hair was stylized in a night colored afro, with a lavender and sky-blue headband covering his hairline. Dream was rather bulky, especially above his waist. He was wearing an all purple sweater, to match his uniquely colored headband and black jeans to match. Finally, he decided to wear purple and black shoes, with the laces matching the lavender in his headband. "Illusion." Yen Sid continued, looking at the young man in the middle now. Illusion looked up at his master; his ruby eyes brimming with courage.

Illusion, like his two partners, was a dark skinned teenager; standing just an inch or two shorter than Dream. Illusion's hair was slightly ragged and brown; extending down to his shoulders. His face was outlined by long side bangs that covered his ears and ended at his chin, as well as numerous bangs that ran through his crimson eyes and forehead; coming to an end at the bottom of the bridge of his nose. Illusion was wearing a white, hooded cloak that lacked sleeves. It did however, possess a hood which had crimson trim, and was fastened low right above his ribs, forming a v-cut at the top, and left the rest of his pants and clothing revealed. The ends of the cloak were designed to look like two tails and end at his shins. The cloak had various, rune-like gold symbols on the front. Underneath the cloak, he wears a black zip up vest which is also sleeveless, and slightly opened at the top to show his neck. He wore a pair of black pants, with a red strip of cloth tied around his right thigh, and a golden belt worn diagonal off his waist. To complete the outfit, he wore black and red streaked sneakers, and red fingerless gloves. "And finally you, Reality." A slight murmur escaped the third teenager's lips, while his sapphire eyes refocused.

Reality was lanky and the shortest compared to his two friends, but he was the most tone. His hair was extremely short and onyx colored. Reality was wearing a blue zip-up hoodie, with a white t-shirt underneath; choosing to keep the sleeves rolled up. He also had two blue wristbands on each arm. For his legs, he covered them in black jeans and his feet were covered by blue and white sneakers. "For your final test, you will have to defeat me in combat." Yen Sid had a slight smirk upon his face, which frightened the teenagers.

"Defeat you, huh?" Reality held out his hand and in front of his palm came a white, almost egg-like orb. It possessed an omnipresent glow; shaking louder, with a thunder like noise filling the area. The ball then cracked open, and his keyblade, Exist Actually, formed in his hand. The hilt appeared gold and v shaped, with a black handle that possessed a sky-blue eagle shaped pattern surrounding each side. The blade itself was blue with three spikes, one long and straight with an arrow at the end, one large one on the right side and jagged, and one small jagged one; causing the teeth of the blade forming a shark fin.

"It's three against one." Dream withdrew a small, purple crystal and gave it a quick flick. The crystal then vanished, and instead his keyblade known as Cloud Catcher. The blade was purple with the traditional symbol for bad luck, a black cat, at the center; it's circling the blade. The hilt was also purple and surrounded with a mixture of lavender and blue spikes. The teeth were designed to look like purple shark fins with a black star at the very top.

"This should be easy." Illusion extended his hand and six outlines of various keyblades began to encircle his hand, before he finally reached out and grabbed one. The mirage keyblades faded away, leaving only his actual keyblade, Phantom Avenger, in his hand. The hilt appeared like a normal handle with a silver spiral encircling it on either side, which joined together at the bottom. The blade itself was silver and straight and changed between being narrow and wide, with numerous light blue miniature blades crossing over the silver blade in no particular pattern. The keyblade's teeth looked like four miniature versions of the keyblade but light blue. Yen Sid said nothing, but summoned his keyblade, the Star Seeker, with a brilliant flash of light. The guard appeared to be two shooting stars. The blade was blue and decorated with stars, while the end was a crescent moon and star. The Keychain design was a crescent moon.

"Ready? Let's begin." The trio didn't get a chance to react, before Yen Sid casted Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga. His magic speed was so incredibly fast, that it was like the three spells were cast at once with no verbal command and no change in his stance. The force of the three elemental spells striking sent all three keyblade wielders crashed down several feet away and flat on their backs.

"Still think this will be easy, Sion?" Reality groaned as he rose to his feet, and helped his two partners up. This time, the three would be ready for their master. Dream had the strongest physical attacks, but the weakest magic, whereas the inverse was true for Reality. Illusion was more or less balanced between the two, but he was certainly the fastest. When the group moved to attack Yen Sid, it was natural for the fastest was the first to attack. While Illusion was performing his low swing, Reality was backing him up with a blizzard spell aimed directly for Yen Sid's chest. But Yen Sid was no stranger to combat against multiple opponents. He escaped both attacks with ease, but was unpleasantly surprised when Dream approached from behind Illusion and connected with a powerful, upward slash.

The unique thing about keyblades, is that masters and potential masters can change the keyblade from a blunt object to a cutting object, so that training battles like this could take place, without fear of that certain lethal aspect. Yen Sid slid back and gripped his stomach, where the bulk of Dream's attack was dealt. He then released another torrent of spells, but this time Illusion was ready. He stepped up front and cast his reflect spell; something that he excelled at since it involved both the element of light, and was a spell that required being casted quickly. The spells smashed into the barrier, which was further enchanted by the stop spell. The attacks froze in their tracks, while Reality struck Yen Sid with a Thundaga spell.

Yen Sid was an absolute master of magic though, and as such had a far greater defense towards elemental magic than even Reality could ever dream of. He staggered a bit, but did not fall. It did give the trio time to close the distance however. They all knew that Yen Sid would fair far worse when the attacks were physical; a statement held true. Yen Sid couldn't keep up with Illusion's speed, nor could he counter against Dream's strength. And whenever he did escape their strikes, Reality was there to strike while he was unguarded.

"Not over yet." Yen Sid released a wave of white light that knocked the wind out of the three, and gave Yen Sid some well needed distance. To make things worse, he cast aero on himself which would push away anyone who got too close.

"Now what?" Reality stared at the vortex of wind, wondering if he had any attacks that would break through it.

"I got a plan. Come closer Real and D.K." Illusion gathered his two friends close and whispered their plan of attack. Yen Sid was kind enough to await them. It wasn't like his Aeroga would be running out any time soon. With Yen Sid's level of magic, he could cast any fire, wind, lightning, or ice based techniques almost indefinitely. If his magic gauge were visible, it would fill up half the room.

"Everyone ready?" Illusion asked, as both his friends nodded and stood at the ready. "Zantetsuken!" Illusion cried, after holding his keyblade at the side like a sheathed katana for a brief moment. Then, he was gone; moving too fast to track. He reappeared behind Yen Sid, stuck in a slashing motion that managed to cut through and destroy the wind barrier.

"My turn. Strike Raid!" With all his might, Dream threw his keyblade and sent it flying to the momentarily stunned keyblade master. It smashed into him, before flying past and landing in Illusion's hand. It was only then after recovering from the well placed strike raid, did Yen Sid notice that Reality had sent forth a perfectly timed crawling fire magic; the compound sphere of pure fire just inches away from his torso. He attempted to back up, but was halted when he saw Illusion, his own keyblade in one hand and Dream's in the other, coming straight for his back with his keyblades crossed into an 'X'.

"Checkmate." Reality taunted, as both his attack and illusion's attack contacted simultaneously, sending little bolts of fire raining behind Illusion and the floored Yen Sid. Dream summoned his keyblade back to him, and joined the others in helping their master stand. He was a little bruised up, but otherwise okay.

"I expected no less from my students. You are now worthy of being deemed keyblade masters. The road will be tough, and at times you may feel like giving in, but I can see the true power you all possess."

"And our memories?" Dream was anxious. They all were the only thing that the three remembered waking up in Yen Sid's castle two years prior, able to use the keyblade and knew their names, but that was all. They shared a common goal; to find their memories.

"I trust they will return in due time, on your journey. Now go, and begin your journey. I have other matters that I must attend to." The group shrugged in unison, before exiting the castle and vanishing into swirling portal of light. Nearly right after they left, someone else arrived. Two people in fact. "Ah yes, there you are."

The first young man had tanned skin with a lanky body when compared to his paler and more muscular companion. He had caramel colored, spiked hair along with true blue eyes. He was wearing a black and silver outfit that was baggy. It contained a dark style, using many zippers and extra leggings and wore a crown necklace. The second person had long, silver hair and blue-green eyes. He had a black zip-up tank-top and a white and yellow vest over it. His pants were a pair of baggy blue denim jeans held up by a black belt covered with square spike studs, and a simple pair of sneakers. "Ah yes, there you two are. Welcome Sora…Riku…are you ready to become keyblade masters?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Radiant Garden huh?" Dream named the world they just arrived in. The keyblade acted as a translator and identified the name of the world they were in, as well as deciphered any other languages. "Seems…peaceful." Dream, Illusion, and Reality walked through a busy town center where they assumed people were purchasing various things. "So where do we start looking?" Reality and Illusion shrugged. In truth, they had no idea where to start looking for their memories. Yen Sid gave them a vague starting point, which eventually led them here. Now the trail had run cold.

"Let's just explore, I guess." Reality answered while motioning to some downward steps they had seen. The group walked towards them, while eyeing a strange duck that owned a monocle for some reason.

Sora and Riku found themselves transported away from Yen Sid's tower and elsewhere, to another familiar place. "Dream world, huh? Looks like Traverse Town to me." Riku's long hair blew slightly in the wind.

"Yeah, it does. Weird." Sora gasped slightly when he looked at Riku's clothing, then again when he looked down at his own. "The dream world changed our clothing!"Sora was now wearing shorts with black stripes on the bottom of each leg. His gloves were black and his jacket became dark grey and black, with black sleeves with red stripes on the ends. Also, under the jacket, Sora found himself wearing a black shirt with a white "X" on the front.

"Not surprised." Riku answered, fairly calmly with a shrug. Riku was wearing a shirt that looked like his vest, with a black high collar, and an odd symbol on the back. He was also wearing baggy blue denim jeans, black wristbands and sneakers.

"Dream-A world that shows your inner-most self." The voice seemed nearly omnipotent, with a strange yet equal blend of masculine and feminine qualities. Sora and Riku looked around in a confused, yet curious expression.

"Drop- You will have to lose your fears and doubts to gain it all." The line seemed to be directed at Riku.

"Distance- What separates your heart from the heart of others is not as difficult to transverse as it may appear." This line, seemed to be directed at Sora. Suddenly, a hole in the ground opened up and swallowed a perplexed looking Riku.

"Riku! Riku!" Sora first attempted to reach into the hole, and then resorted to walking around calling his name.

"Such an annoying noise." This time, a different voice was addressing Sora. And unlike the first one, it was strictly masculine with a body attached to it. He turned around and saw a male about his age. He was about Riku's height and slender, with spiky orange hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt with a funnel-shaped collar, and a blue-violet stripe outlined with gold going down the middle. He also possessed a blue-violet pair of headphones, and a yellow sweatband on his left arm, and white shorts held up by a loose-fitting belt. Finally he wore black shoes with a blue-violet stripe outlined in gold. "Besides," the boy continued, "There's no time for that now. Don't you understand that the world ends with you?"

Reality, Illusion, and Dream found themselves in a large, mostly empty plaza. There was a small house to their right and three figures standing in front of them in pale green, hooded cloaks. The figures had been there when they first arrived as if they were waiting for someone. "Hello, Reality. Illusion. Dream." The figure in the center spoke.

"Who are you? How do you know us?" Illusion questioned.

"You don't remember? That's a shame. We remember you." The figure on the far right spoke, chucking at his own words.

"You have something to do with our memories don't you?" Reality called out.

"Don't you know what happens to runaway memories?" The figure who remained silent finally spoke. The three cloaked figures flashed pale green for a moment, and out from their bodies sprouted a multitude of little, pale green creatures. They were about the size of heartless and appeared almost horse-like in the face, yet stood on two legs. "They haunt you!"

Reality, Dream and Illusion immediately summoned their keyblades to attack the now swarming creatures. Illusion clutched his head for a moment, but regained his composure quickly. "Your head hurting too?" Dream's question earned a nod from Reality and Illusion.

"It's been hurting since we saw these guys. Yet, I feel…"

"Drawn to them?" Reality finished Illusion's sentence, and returned to his fighting stance just in time to cut down one of their new enemies. The three worked together like a tactical unit, making sure not to let one another be overtaken by the creatures. Mostly, the creatures only needed a few swings before they faded away, but there were so many of them that it proved a bit of a challenge. Plus, the fact that their heads were pounding didn't help matters.

"Crowd control!" Illusion shouted the battle plan, before the three separated. "Rain of light!" Orbs of light sprawled out from his body and floated into the air, before raining down upon the crowd of enemies.

"Dance of lighting!" Reality let loose a large ball of lightning that circled him in a wide arc, and slowly circled closer and closer until it eventually went back to his keyblade; destroying any enemies it came in contact with during that process.

"Tornado raid!" Dream tossed his keyblade into the center of a group of creatures, which then became encircled with a vicious spiral of wind that damaged and destroyed the creatures. The three nearly collapsed when the creatures were killed; clutching their heads in pain.

Illusion saw himself standing in front of someone that seemed like consumed with light powers. "You have been bathed in the light similar to I have. Be my apprentice and I can show you all that I know. "The younger Illusion nodded his head, and gripped the hilt of the person's keyblade.

Reality saw himself standing in front of someone who felt of darkness, but raw power. "You aren't afraid of the darkness. That's good. You shouldn't be. You must learn to control it. Let me show you." The younger Reality nodded his head, and gripped the hilt of the person's keyblade.

Dream saw himself standing in front of someone who felt familiar. Someone that Dream knew currently. "My magic drew me to you. Tell me, are you ready to become something more. I have one apprentice ahead of you, but perhaps you can learn even more between the two of us." The younger Dream nodded his head, and gripped the hilt of the person's keyblade.

When they returned from their individual memories, the three cloaked figures were gone. "We've got to contact Yen Sid." Dream was the one who had the best relationship with Yen Sid, so he decided to be the one to contact him and explain what had occurred.

"I was afraid of this happening. Those creatures are what are known as Plagues. They're remnants of memory once lost, trying to overtake the point of their origin." Yen Sid caught the trio looking at the unconscious Sora and Riku. "Ah. These two are taking the mark of mastery currently. They're in the land of dreams currently, where all people and worlds are connected. Do not worry about them right now, but they will be of help to you in the future." Yen Sid ended the communication line, after suggesting that they follow the trail of the Plague's before they went cold. The trio decided to return to the exact spot they were within a few days if they found nothing, and split up. Illusion and Reality's trail led them to different worlds, yet Dream's trail beckoned him further into Radiant Gardens.

"I'm surprised this letter reached me, Kairi." King Mickey had found himself on Destiny Islands, clutching a letter than mysteriously made its way to his castle. It had been signed by Kairi though, so he knew it was worth investigating.

"I want to do my part. Everyone is busy doing their own training to prepare themselves. Well, I'm a keyblade user too! Train me please, Mickey." Mickey smiled at Kairi's sincere request.

"Okay. Come with me, back to the castle." The two departed from the world, heading towards Mickey's castle.


End file.
